Vintage Drum Heads

With vintage English drums a common enquiry is ‘are my drums pre-international size’?

There is a fair bit of confusion over which English drum manufacturers made shells slightly undersized or oversized, and even then there are misconceptions over which size drums are affected. Here I hope to clarify this for you and give some tips on how to determine if your vintage English drum set takes regular sized heads, or is indeed in ‘funny sizes’!

Premier made pre-international sized drums in a 20, 10, 12 and 16 (metric sized shells) on all sets pre-1967. All other Premier drum shells should be standard (international) sized, although there are exceptions (notably larger bass drums pre 1960, that were non-standard sized and fitted with calf heads – 22,24,26 etc). Premier made their own plastic drum heads ‘Everplay’ and ‘Everplay extra’ in the UK, but its worth a mention that in the 1966 catalogue they do an ‘American sized 12”, and 16” head and were manufacturing 13” heads although they didn’t have any 13” toms on their sets.

The actual measurements of pre international drums are as follows:

10” = 9 5/8” actual diameter 12" = 11-7/8" actual diameter 16" = 16-5/16" actual diameter 20" = 19-5/8" actual diameter

Sometime between 1968 and the early 1970’s all Premier shells became international (standard), and you can generally tell by the badge and kit set up. The 1968 Premier catalogue features a mixture of old and new set configurations but by 1972 all sets featured display configurations with regular shell sizes. It is in these intervening years that sets came out of the factory with just about every combination of standard and pre international sized drums. Typically there was a backlog of pre-international shells in the factory which made it into kit set ups, so many kits between 1968 and 1972 have a mixture of international and pre international shells, some with the earlier 1960’s badge, lugs and fittings, some with the later. It’s not unusual to have a kit with an international size bass drum and pre international 12 and 16 toms and often with a mixture of badges and fittings/mounts.

In the 1968 catalogue, Premier introduced the 14 x 8” tom (sometimes referred to as the ‘tuna fish can’ or the ‘pancake tom’) and its to be noted that this was standard sized. By 1972, Premier had introduced the 13 x 9” tom and from then all drums that came out of the factory were standard sized.

If in doubt when looking at a kit to buy, it’s worth noting that Pre international floor toms are always 10 lug, whilst the international shells were 8 lug. With the 12 x 8” tom and 20 x 14” bass drum, the lugs and badges are usually a good indication. If in doubt, its best to measure the shell’s diameter with the head off!

It should be noted that all Premier snare drums are a standard 14”.

Remo are the only manufacturer of pre-international heads, but now produce quite a range; coated and clear Ambassador as well as clear pinstripe are currently available. They will however make anything to order, in any size, so contact your dealer if you fancy something else or have an unusual size bass drum. I recently had some pre international sized Fibreskyn heads on a special order and have some other pre international head options coming soon.

Other 1960’s English drums often require pre-international heads – Dallas (Carlton, President), Olympic, John Grey (Autocrat, Broadway) and some of their snare drums are slightly under or over 14”. Currently there are no heads available off the shelf for these snare drums, but as mentioned Remo will make heads to fit.

It’s worth noting that both Boosey & Hawkes (Ajax, Edgeware, Stratford), Beverley and Hayman never made pre-international sized drum shells so standard heads will fit these drums. I always have Remo Pre international heads in stock at Nick Hopkin Drums and can have anything made to order. Drop me an email if you want to discuss specifics for your set, or head options.

 

1960 English Rogers Set

It is hard for me to believe we are already in to February. Where did January go? My Mother told me when I was young and wishing for my birthday, Christmas, or school to be out that time would go a lot faster when I grew up. She was right, as always, and time now really get away in a hurry. I am looking forward, but not wishing my life away, to some great drum shows this year. I hope you can attend one in your area this year. Keep watching for the places and dates to be listed here in the magazine. Getting together with other vintage and custom drum collectors and players is always fun and educational. I am constantly learning information about vintage drums from my drum collector friends. A lot of my contacts and friends were made at drum shows.

I decided to feature a set this month for your enjoyment that I recently acquired. It's an early 1960s English Rogers set in rare Madi Gras finish. I have wanted a Rogers or Slingerland set in Madi Gras finish for years. I just love that finish. By the way, Madi Gras is this month in New Orleans. I've never been to Madi Gras, but I have that trip on my bucket list, but back to my desire for a Madi Gras drum set. I have been looking for a Madi Gras set to add to my collection, and as I was searching E-Bay a few weeks ago a set was there for sale. I really wanted them and had decided to place a bid when the end of the sale came around. I usually wait to bid until the end of the sale. I have jumped in right at the beginning, but usually I wait. Maybe you could leave a comment and share your E-Bay bidding strategy. The Madi Gras set on E-Bay was a Rogers set and that was fine with me. It's no secret to my readers that I love Rogers drums. While I was watching that set, another Rogers Madi Gras set showed up on Facebook. The set for sale on Facebook was the English Rogers set I am showing you. Yes, I made a deal with the seller and he shipped them to me from Canada. I am so excited about them.

English Rogers drums were made in the 1960s at the Boosey & Hawkes drum factory in London. They had Ajax three ply shells with reinforcement rings. The interiors are clear coated not painted like American Rogers. The lugs are Bread and Butter style, and the mounts are Swivomatic style, but they are different from the USA parts. The Madi Gras finish is also different from the American version, not as busy. The script logo badges also look different. The sizes of this set are: bass drum 20"X15", floor tom 16"X16", mounted tom is 12"X8", and the matching snare is 14"X5". Many of you know that Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five played English Rogers drums. English Rogers drums were not a huge success, but they are very cool drums. Many collectors want to have a replica of John Bonham's set or a Ringo's set. I would like to have a red sparkle English Rogers set with a Dave Clark logo head. He was one of my greatest influences.

My set was owned by a member of the Toronto Symphony who brought them from England. When he returned to England to retire he left the set in Canada with a new owner. There is a cool Drum City London sticker on the bass drum. I was tempted to try to finish removing it. It looks like someone started to take it off but didn't go through with it. I have decided to leave it. It has been there fifty years, and it adds to the story of the drums, so for now the sticker stays. The man who helped me buy these drums from the owner who acquired them from the symphony percussionist was a super guy. He did a great job handling the sale and shipping the drums from Canada to my door. I want to thank him again for the great job he did. Leave a comment if you have an English Rogers set or if you liked Dave Clark Five. Keep looking in those unusual places for a great old drum.

 

Premier Super Ace Snare Drum

Prior to the popular Premier Royal Ace snare drum of the 1960’s, Premier had some other classic snare drums that worked with an internal parallel snare mechanism.

Premier launched the Ace snare drum in the 30’s, which progressed through various design changes over the decades until becoming the Royal Ace in the 1960s. Prior to its final incarnation, In 1958 Premier launched the ‘Super Ace’ in their 1958 catalog as ‘Premiers greatest achievement’. With its exclusive parallel snare mechanism, it boasted perfect response with heads and snare wires at any tension, with absolutely no snare buzz when the wires were thrown off.

The shell had a lever midway, which gave the player control of the internal snare mechanism. Moving the lever up or down effectively switched the snares on or off (via a bar positioned horizontally through the shell, with the butt ends attached). The design of the lever and the butt ends are very art deco, chromium plated to the highest standard, as expected on all vintage Premier. Their chrome really was second to none. The drum featured flush braced lugs, slot tension rods and die cast hoops (with shallower rims than previous drums to ‘allow for faster playing’).

The wooden shelled Super Aces came in several sizes, the standard being 5.5 and 6.5, but with a 4” model available as well as 8”. I’ve never seen an 8” model, but would love to hear one. (If anyone has one, please send some pictures). Their sound was very much like the Royal Ace that I’ve discussed in previous issues; warm with a nice ring from the die cast hoops and a real sensitivity, with the added ability to give a strong backbeat without losing tone. The drums were available in a good selection of colours and finishes; Marine pearl, black pearl, silver, gold, aquamarine & red sparkle, white & black duroplastic.

The drum was also available in a metal shell at both 6.5 and 12”. These were the Concert Ace’s, initially designed for orchestral and symphony work, but quickly becoming one of the most sought after snare drums in the USA in their time. I haven’t seen or played a 12”, which is described in the catalogues as capable of ‘every degree of volume from a whisper to a tremendous roar’. I recently had a 6.5” Concert Ace in the shop; with its chrome over brass shell and die cast hoops, this drum could give any of the other big names 6.5” COB’s a run for their money in my opinion. Its new owner is Matt Helders of the band Arctic Monkeys.

The snare wires on these drums were a single 20 strand wire which hooked onto a bar inside each butt end; some of the earlier models had a slightly different set of wires which screwed directly into the base of the snare butts. (See pictures). These wires are getting hard to come by, but there are people who can build replica sets or repair and modify older wires. Email me if you need some made.

A classic snare drum that went on to become the Royal Ace (which I’ve discussed previously), Premier’s flagship snare drum of the 1960’s. Expect to pay around $400  for a drum in good working condition with original wires.

 

1950-55 Leedy & Ludwig 5x14 "Zebra" Broadway Standard

I got this drum from Bun E. Carlos at the 2013 Chicago Vintage Drum Show. Bun E. Carlos had the only two known Leedy & Ludwig Zebra snare drums, a 4 x 14 Broadway New-Era and a 5 x 14 Broadway Standard. He sold me the 5 x 14 Broadway Standard. The drum was previously owned by Mark Cooper of Coopers Vintage Drums and a special thanks goes to Mark for the additional info on this drum. Bun E. also helped me to authenticate the Zebra finish by giving me a few photos of his Leedy & Ludwig “Salesman Sample” floor tom shell that shows the Zebra finish as one of the samples. Bun E. added this: "The wrap was available to the general public. Aside from your drum, and my 5 drums, I've seen only 2 other Zebra drums, a big bass drum and floor tom on EBay a few years back. Only 8 drums, rarer than an original Triumphal!!!!! Haha!!"...? I love Bun E.’s wry sense of humor.

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William Kent (1915-2014)

William Kent, co-founder of the Kent Drum Company, passed away in his Buffalo, New York area home on December 11, 2014. William turned 99 years old last month and passed after a very short illness.

In 1947 William and Ed Kent opened the Kent Drum Company in Kenmore, NY with a focus to create student-level kits, encouraging music making at all economic levels. The company also offered professional-level drum sets, snare drums and percussion accessories. William was always proud of a common story told throughout the industry - "A Christmas morning surprise, in 1964 or 1965... for the young Ringo want-to-be, a new Kent Drum set under the tree!" The company closed in 1977, allowing William and Ed to retire. Drum Paradise, their retail shop next to the factory, closed the following year.

William Kent's 2013 NAMM Oral History interview: https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/william-kent

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Text courtesy of Dan Del Fiorentino, NAMM Music Historian.

 

Master Blaster

As with many drums of the 18th and 19 centuries, this full-barrel bass was more than likely hand crafted by a trunk and furniture maker, or possibly even a coach and carriage builder.  The main tack pattern surrounding the sling attachments is very common to that which was used on the lids of storage or travel trunks of the era.  A drum maker would normally have his own unique tack pattern to identify his work as opposed to a commonly used utilitarian tack design familiar to trunk builders.  A secondary brass tack pattern of a circle within a circle is located surrounding the unreinforced vent hole.

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1940 Radio Kings - A Family Tradition

I was scrolling through a vintage drummer Facebook group one day, and I came across a post from Joe Ciucci. Rather, I came across an open-mouth drool worthy video of his 1940 restored Slingerland Radio Kings…. Joe was just the guy attached to the post! I sent a message to Joe, and we struck up a conversation. Joe turned out to be as nice as his drums, and I offered to showcase the drums in Not So Modern Drummer. He took me up on the offer, and here we are today. Joe was instrumental in setting up our Nashville Drum Show trip to ATL Drum Collective, and if you came to the Nashville show, you couldn't have missed the Radio Kings in the vintage drum museum.

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Rick Latham's Polish Snare Drum

We got this question from Rick Latham as he was ending his summer tour in Europe.Can any of you help us out here? - NSMD:  Hi George, Greetings brother from the Black Forest of Germany! Hope you are doing well. I'm nearing the end of a three month tour here in Europe - Germany, Italy, France, Poland, Switzerland... all great! I ran across this drum in a drum shop in Poznan, Poland and the guys are curious if it's anything cool - or maybe a bastardized-something-weird? Ha! I told them if anyone would know, it would be you - so give it your best shot.

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DW "Buddy Rich" Drum Set

This is a Drum Workshop set that I purchased March of 1983 that was custom built for Buddy Rich in August 1982. He used it for the beginning of the 1983 tour and played them until he had the heart attack when he was in Ann Arbor Michigan. It was ordered and built to his specifications through Joe Cusatis at the modern drum shop in NYC. He wanted the Slingerland TDR throw off on the snare, He wanted Pearl spurs and a Ludwig rail/banana mount for the tom tom. He also wanted Ludwig cymbal holders for the bass drum. The rest of the set is DW but is wrapped in Ludwig white marine pearl. It has the BR on the front bass drum head and "Buddy Rich Fragile" on the cases.

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The WWII Collection

"Here are a couple of pics of the World War II collection. The L&L is completely restored. The 1st version WFL (with the rolling bomber snare) werepurchased new, played for a year at home and put in the closet for 70+ years - they still have the original Calf heads on them. I am the 2nd owner. A BDP Rollin Bomber kit with a very rare 10" off set lug tom. I am the second owner as well. At the show I will also have a 1st version (Cecil Stupe design) WFL internal tune kit in WMP that I am restoring."

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1970s Camco Drum Set

Lately I have been bitten by the Camco bug. You might have been bitten by that bug yourself. There has been a rise in interest in these wonderful drums in recent times and I started wanting to own a Camco kit. I read the article about Camco drums here in the magazine with great interest. In the article the writer called them the "Stradivarius" of vintage drums. I have always thought they looked great, and wanted to own a set, so I finally made it a point to acquired a set for my collection. All the hype about these fine drums is true. They are very well built and sound fantastic. I think the first time I noticed them was when Dennis Wilson played a blue moire Camco set with the Beach Boys. 

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